Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to amend business of the Senate notice of motion No. 1 standing in my name, relating to a proposed reference to the Senate Standing Committee on Economics, before asking that it be taken as a formal motion.

Leave not granted.

Kerry O'Brien (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thought you had got the message.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Then I seek leave to make a brief statement.

Alan Ferguson (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for two minutes.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator O’Brien from the government says that he thought I had got the message. The message is this, Mr Deputy President: this motion is for a reference to the Senate Standing Committee on Economics of matters that have arisen out of the application by Chinalco to effectively take a controlling interest in Rio Tinto—Chinalco being a directly controlled entity of the Chinese government in Beijing.

I altered the motion yesterday and I sought leave to amend it in terms agreed to by the government, but now the Leader of the Nationals has moved the same motion. My motion was there yesterday. I am not going to be precious about this but there is some failure of process going on here. The motion is essentially a Greens’ motion. I do not mind if the Nationals want to take it over and look like they have got a mortgage on the territory. That is politics. However, it is very strange indeed for the government to oppose an agreed motion of this importance from the Greens, and that will be noted.